Ducks 2026 First Round Draft Recap

By Thomas Harrington

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the draft lottery and the right to select first at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. They then selected Gavin McKenna first overall. The San Jose Sharks were the other big winners in the draft lottery, moving up several slots and choosing Ivar Stenberg second overall. The Vancouver Canucks were the big losers in the lottery, dropping to the third overall pick, where they chose Caleb Malhotra. Chicago held the fourth overall pick, but traded it to Buffalo. They chose Daxon Rudolph. Rounding out the top five, the New York Rangers chose Alberts Smits.

The Anaheim Ducks entered the 2026 NHL Entry Draft with no first round picks for the first time since the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. However, during the draft, Anaheim traded forward Mason McTavish to the St. Louis Blues for the 15th and 29th overall picks in the draft. With the 15th overall pick, the Ducks chose forward Nikita Klepov. Anaheim only made the deal with St. Louis when Klepov was still available at 15th overall. The Ducks then traded the 29th pick and the 117th overall pick for the 28th overall pick. With the 28th pick, the Ducks chose forward Marcus Nordmark. 

Nikita Klepov

Klepov is a right winger who played for the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL this past season. He scored 37 goals and 97 points in 67 games, leading the OHL in points as a rookie. He’s the first rookie to lead the OHL in scoring since Patrick Kane. In the playoffs, Kelpov played in four games and scored a goal and five points. At 6’0”, he’s a little shorter than most players Pat Verbeek picks, but given that the deal was only made when he was still available, there’s no question Anaheim thinks very highly of him.

Klepov will be one of the many players moving from the CHL to the NCAA. This coming season, he’ll be playing for Michigan State University. He’ll be joining fellow Anaheim prospect Eric Nilson. Klepov is likely going to spend at least two or three years in the NCAA before he looks to turn pro. Depending on how his development goes, he’ll probably spend a season in the AHL before he makes his way to the NHL.

Marcus Nordmark

Nordmark is a left winger who has played in various Swedish leagues over the past several years. This past season, he played in the U18 Region, U18 Nationell, U20 Nationell, and the SHL. He saw the most number of games in the U20 Nationell, where he played in 25 games for Djurgardens IF U20 and scored 14 goals and 38 points. In 11 playoff games, he scored six goals and 23 points and finished tied for third in playoff scoring. The league Nordmark played the second most games in was the SHL, where he played in eight games for Djurgardens IF and recorded an assist.

Nordmark will likely stay in Sweden for the next couple of seasons. Hopefully he’ll get some quality time in the SHL, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he also played in the U20 Nationell and HockeyAllsvenskan as well. Nordmark has been described as one of the more enigmatic players in this draft. He’s one of the more skilled players, but sometimes will have several poor games in a row. Hopefully a couple more years in Sweden before coming to North America will help him get more consistency in his game. When he does come stateside, I’d expect him to spend some time in the AHL before getting a shot at the NHL.

Coming into draft day, the Anaheim Ducks held six draft picks, all on day two. After trading Olen Zellweger, McTavish, and the 117th pick, the Ducks had eight picks, including two in the first and two in the second. On day two, Anaheim will pick 45th overall, 50th overall, 82nd overall, 146th overall, 178th overall, and 210th overall. After taking two wingers, I’d expect the Ducks to take at least one center and a couple of defensemen on day two. Hopefully the Ducks are able to find some late round gems.

Related Articles:

McTavish Traded To St. Louis

Zellweger Traded To Buffalo

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June 27th, 2026